Active Research Projects
Islands and Corridors: The urban disease landscape
Through tracking deer and mice movement, sampling tick and mice in parks and screening for pathogens, this project will determine how tick-borne diseases, like Lyme disease, can emerge and persist on Staten Island.
Project lead: Meredith VanAcker, MS, PhD Candidate
Tick encounters: understanding people’s risk
During house visits, we will evaluate the risk in the yards by sampling for ticks and conducting a survey to learn about protective measures people undertake or are willing to implement. We will also evaluate mice and other animal activity in yards that could be transporting ticks, using harmless hair traps and trail cameras. This data will be combined with the data collected in parks and The Tick App to understand how can we better prevent tick exposure and provide custom-made solutions for Staten Islanders.
News
New and Improved Update of “The Tick App” Released
Spring marks the start of nymphal blacklegged tick season, and this year the newest version 3.2.0 of The Tick App has been released. Through citizen science, we examine the ways human behavior and day-to-day activities influence people’s risk for tick-borne diseases and tick exposure. The Tick App features daily logs, tick identification services, local tick activity reports, tick check reminders, and more!. Turning on location services can inform you about local blacklegged tick activity.
Invitation to group discussion about our tick research on Staten Island
As a resident of this community, we would like to invite you to discuss with us the risk of tick exposure in the area, as well as your personal experiences with ticks and prevention methods you undertake to reduce risks. We will also discuss our research findings to date and our future plans. We look forward to any feedback you can provide.
For this purpose, we are holding a 1-hour meeting scheduled at different convenient locations and times on Staten Island:
We are looking for summer research assistants!!
We have multiple paid research assistant positions for the 2020 summer field season to work on one of these projects:
Human risk: We will evaluate the human exposure to ticks and the risk of Lyme disease in yards close to parks and green spaces.
Ecology of ticks in natural areas: We will examine the natural transmission cycle of the Lyme disease and the ecology of the ticks species found in parks across Staten Island
